Etobicoke Centre
Special Education Forum Minutes
Tuesday, October 22, 2013 – Briarcrest Junior School
In Attendance:
Iftin Abdullahi (Parent, North Kipling JMS)Suban Abdullahi (Co-chair, Beverly Heights)
Amal Ali (Parent, Valleyfield)
Rob Barnes (Parent, Eatonville)
David Chudoba (Parent, Broadacres/Hollycrest)
Judy Chudoba (Chair, Broadacres)
Bev Doucette (Parent, Eatonville)
Tracy Fihrer (Secretary, Harrison PS)
Chris Glover (Trustee)
Sharon Golench (Parent, Central Etobicoke)
Pamela Khan (Parent, Millwood/Bloordale)
Jenny Lai (Parent, Hollycrest)
George Liolis (Teacher, Central Etobicoke)
Maria Lo Bianco (TDSB Special Education)
Virginia Ludy (Ward 2 PIAC Representative) / Pat McAfee (Chair, Central Etobicoke)
Judy Palmer (Parent, Briarcrest)
Raka Pisharoty (Parent, St. George’s )
Dina Pizolinas (Ward 2 FSLAC Rep.)
Chris Powell (Parent, Eatonville)
Vivek Rao (Parent, Broadacres)
Judith Sargent (Parent, Richview)
Phil Sargent (Ward 2 SEAC Representative)
Mary Smart (Parent, Millwood)
Sarah Smart (Teacher, Briarcrest)
Jackie Stafford (Principal, Briarcrest)
Sandra Tondat (TDSB Special Education)
Nancy Trendoff (Constituency Assistant)
Holly Yip (Parent, Briarcrest)
1. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS – Chris Glover
Meeting called to order by Chris at 7:08 p.m.
Chris welcomed everyone to the meeting. All in attendance introduced themselves.
2. INTRODUCTION TO BRIARCREST JUNIOR SCHOOL – Jackie Stafford
The Toronto District School Board is celebrating Islamic Heritage month in October and Briarcrest parents and students have set up a lovely display of clothing and writing in the library. Jackie encourages displays for each heritage month to not only educate the students but to also make everyone feel welcome at their school. Briarcrest offers a special education Home School Program (HSP) and two intensive support classes: junior behavior and junior autism for grades 3-5. There are three extended French classes for grade 4 and one class for grade 5. Students from Briarcrest move on to Bloorlea or Hollycrest middle schools. EQAO scores for Briarcrest were very strong this year.
3. SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE (SEAC) UPDATE – Phillip Sargent
The Special Education Advisory Committee (SEAC) is a Ministry of Education mandated advisory committee for the Board to offer support and direction in the area of special education. Links to SEAC, agenda and minutes, and contact information can be found on the Board website at:
http://www.tdsb.on.ca/Community/HowtoGetInvolved/CommunityAdvisoryCommittees/SpecialEducationAdvisoryCommittee.aspx
PIAC/SEAC Special Education Conference:
The first-ever event held on Saturday, October 19 drew 254 attendees providing parents with informational presentations, booths and networking opportunities. Overall, the conference was a very positive and successful event.
Canadian National Institute for the Blind (CNIB) Presentation:
The CNIB has a library collection of 80,000 books for those who have difficulty reading print due to a visual, physical or learning disability. This is funded by the Ontario Government and all that is required is a library card. For details, visit www.cniblibrary.ca.
ACTION: Phil will request to have someone from the CNIB present at an upcoming Special Education Forum.
Education Quality and Accountability Office (EQAO) Results:
Since 2009-10 the overall exemption rate of special education students is down 8% but overall scores are up 11% at the grade 3-4 level in writing. Math results remain steady. These results show that special education students can participate with the appropriate help. Overall, TDSB special education scores were better than the provincial average.
Individual Education Plan (IEP) Update:
The Board has made IEP Samples by Exceptionality available to its teachers (set at the grade 6 level). At the end of the fifth week of school, there were 40,835 IEPs in progress. Sandra Tondat confirmed that there are approximately 50,000 students with IEPs. 48% are for exceptional students; 52% of students with IEPs do not have a designated exceptionality.
An estimate of the largest number of exceptionalities at the Board:
· 39.3% Learning Disability
· 27% Giftedness
· 15.8% Mild Intellectual Disability or Developmental Disability
· 9.2 % Autism
Many parents and staff are still not aware of the web-based IEP process and Summary Sheet (that came about as a result of this forum). This sheet should be with the students in middle schools and secondary schools at the beginning of each school year and be taken from class to class. Standardizing the process and communication should be improved across the Board in order to implement it more successfully.
QUESTION: Who should parents go to for the IEP Summary Sheet?
Sandra Tondat responded that parents should ask the teacher or ACL (Assistant Curriculum Leader), CL (Curriculum Leader) or MART (Methods and Resource Teacher).
4. FRENCH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE ADVISORY COMMITTEE (FSLAC) UPDATE – Dina
Pizolinas
Dina attended the meeting at Millwood Junior School organized by parents who are concerned with the French Immersion bussing of students to Hilltop Middle School. A committee was formed and will be deputing to the Board’s Administration, Finance and Accountability Committee on November 6.
A parent expressed concern about the concentration of French Immersion students at a school and the impact on its English program. A high-achieving student would most likely be in the French program and anyone struggling would be in the English program. This, in turn, could result in large classes of high-needs students that can be difficult to manage.
Jackie Stafford commented that the English stream at Briarcrest is fairly balanced.
QUESTION: Is the bussing policy for the Gifted Program different than French Immersion?
The bussing policy is the same. Students in grades 6-8 may be eligible to receive TTC tickets if they live 3.2 km or more away from their home school. To view the policy, see:
http://www2.tdsb.on.ca/ppf/uploads/files/live/101/185.pdf
5. ACCESSIBLE BUSSING UPDATE AND DISCUSSION
Accessible Bussing on Field Trips:
Phil reported that the lack of accessible bussing for field trips continues to be an ongoing issue. Field trips are part of every student’s school experience and if a student with special needs is required to be on a different bus than the rest of the class, this goes against the Board’s concept of inclusion.
The problem is that, currently, no company provides a mixed-use, full-size school bus which can accommodate both wheelchairs and walk-on passengers. The mixed-use busses that were available for a period of time last year by Stock and First Student are no longer being used in Toronto. A report which was provided by the Facilities Department listed only coach-style busses which are extremely expensive and not viable options for school trips.
ACTION: Contact Stock and First Student to find out if the mixed-use busses can be returned to the Toronto area.
Phil suggested working on a Request for Proposal to put pressure on bus companies to convert a regular, full-size bus to a mixed-use accessible bus which can be done by simply removing a few seats.
Chris mentioned that proposals for bussing contracts will be coming up in 2014, so this will provide some leverage in the negotiations.
ACTION: Chris will draft a letter to be sent to the bus companies requesting that they provide the TDSB with mixed-use accessible school busses. The letter will be forwarded to Phil and Virginia, Angelos Bacopoulos in Facilities, and all Special Education Forum attendees.
The Accessibility for Disabled of Ontario Act specifies that people with disabilities must be provided with equal access and support. Sandra commented that the Act is currently being phased in.
George Liolis mentioned that Sunny View Public School has their own private accessible busses and asked if other TDSB schools are able to have access to them.
Bussing for Students at Central Etobicoke:
The main issue is that the special needs students come from all areas of Toronto for the specialized program offered at the school. These students are not able to participate in any after-school programs since they must be on a bus to get home. These students do not have an opportunity to socialize outside of school because of their disabilities. Toronto Parks and Recreation has provided subsidized TTC tickets yet some of the students do not have the ability to use public transportation. How can we provide a viable transportation solution for these students?
ACTION: Chris to contact Bill Dempster who runs the bus fleet for TDSB Special Education schools.
QUESTION: How can we get TTC training for some of these students?
Sandra said that partnerships are being reviewed at the Board and can be explored.
ACTION: Send delegation information to George and Jenny on how to depute at the Board’s Administration, Finance Accountability Committee meeting.
6. ALLOCATION OF SPECIAL NEEDS ASSISTANTS – Maria Lo Bianco, Sandra Tondat
There are currently 9 students (in kindergarten and grade 1) requiring special needs support currently at Eatonville. There are two Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) allocated to the school.
Sandra clarified that the SNAs are allocated to the entire school, not solely to the kindergarten classes.
A parent commented that although an additional .5 SNA was recently allocated to the school (up from 1.5), the number of children requiring special attention has doubled. It was noted that there are more children at Eatonville because of its association with Terry Tan Child Care which services special needs children.
A parent commented that at St. George’s there are 2 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) students and only one SNA is in the entire school assisting other classes.
Sandra Tondat clarified that if there is an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) intensive support program at a school, a teacher and an EA will be assigned to the class. When SNAs are allocated to a school, they are for those students who have high needs only (medical or safety risks).
To determine if the SNA resources have been allocated fairly, Chris spoke with the principals from each school. The principals are in agreement that every school requires more SNAs, but the allocation has been done as fairly as possible. The problem lies in the lack of resources. When 430 Educational Assistants (EAs) were lost last year due to budget cuts, this had a tremendous impact.
QUESTION: How are SNAs hired?
The Special Education Department provides the allocation to schools. Employee Services fills the allocation based on classification, seniority and the collective agreement. If a school has a vacancy and the position is posted the school principal is responsible for hiring.
QUESTION: If enrollment is dropping, why aren’t the resources allocated properly?
Although overall enrollment is dropping, the number of special needs students is rising dramatically.
QUESTION: When a school has a child that is a flight risk, why aren’t the gates all bolted shut?
Chris responded that is a school issue that should be brought up at Millwood’s school council meeting. It was recommended that all parents take a look at their kindergarten schoolyards to be sure they are safe.
ACTION: Find out why gates at Millwood are not bolted shut.
Answer provided by Greg Freeman, principal: The three gates do have closures on them, and the teachers do close them when they go outside to supervise. I have included a notice on my website reminding the public to close the gates when they use them and I have asked the teachers to remind the parents to close the gates after themselves.There is more traffic using the gates now that the parking lot door is locked all the time.The public now goes through the Kindergarten yard to enter through the front doors, increasing the traffic opening and closing the gates.If the gates were bolted the children would have difficulty opening the gates to get into the yard.
A parent commented that her child is a flight risk and yet is sharing support. She is worried about the safety of her child. She commented that relationships between parents, teachers and support staff are critical to best serve our children.
Maria Lo Bianco will contact Susan Winter to discuss this situation and how to create a better dialogue between parents, teachers and the Special Education department.
7. TRUSTEE UPDATE – Chris Glover
The Board is anticipating another $30 million shortfall next year. This could mean another 1% in staffing cuts. We lost $3 million from Special Education and we’re feeling it now. Parents must start advocating now to the province for more funding to public education. Government funding to the Board will take place in March.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:14 pm.
Thank you to all the parents, students and staff members who came. A special thank you to Jackie for hosting the meeting and introducing us to the programs at Briarcrest Junior School.
Trustee Chris Glover